Rainforests can buffer rising CO₂ in the short term—but this comes at a cost

Tropical forests are among the world’s most important carbon sinks. A new study by the Technical University of Munich (TUM), the University of Vienna, and Brazil’s National Institute for Amazonian Research suggests that even small understory trees can temporarily store more CO₂ as atmospheric CO₂ levels rise. However, their long-term capacity to sequester carbon may…

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Neanderthal brains measure up to ours—literally

(When we talk about “intelligence,” we’re describing something complex and, frankly, sort of nebulous; it’s impossible to really quantify, but that hasn’t stopped generations of scientists from trying. Researchers who study cognition break it down into specific areas: attention, inhibition, cognitive flexibility, speech production and speech comprehension, working memory, and episodic memory. Some of those…

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Full moon helps paint vibrant, muddy ‘brushstrokes’ in Indonesian river — Earth from space

QUICK FACTS Where is it? Rokan River, Sumatra, Indonesia [2.2294556537, 100.62990147] What’s in the photo? Brushstroke-like patterns of sediment painted by a high tide Which satellite took the photo? Landsat 8 When was it taken? June 23, 2024 This beautiful satellite snap captured a series of “brushstroke-like patterns” that emerged in the mouth of an…

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Wildfire posts can save crucial minutes, but one hidden effect is reshaping how crews and resources get deployed

Social media posts are a double-edged sword for public agencies that respond to emergencies such as wildfires. New research from the University of Waterloo shows that while posts by citizens who see emergencies in the making can help first responders spring into action faster, they may also result in costly overreaction. Source: Read Full Article

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